How to search,find and rent an apartment or bedroom in Madrid

Madrid is a big city and the chore of finding and renting an apartment, “piso” in Spanish or bedroom, “habitación” in Spanish can be daunting. In this hub, key tips to find a good apartment or bedroom at a reasonable price or whatever price one is prepared to offer, will be laid out.

-Firstly, it’s important to establish some guidelines in order to focus the search correctly. Its useful to start to think about factors like location, whether to share an apartment or solely rent a bedroom, renting costs,and comforts like availability of internet etc. The location is important in order to start thinking about mobility and access. Do you prefer walking to walk instead of taking the metro? Are sports facilities and supermarkets important to you? Or will you be content merely with a park nearby? The next viewpoint to consider is the decision to rent a complete apartment or flat or to share with flatmates in which case you will be looking to rent a room. In this case, one needs to ponder the costs of renting a flat on their own or the complexities of sharing a flat with relative strangers. The advantage of renting a flat on one’s own is the enjoyment of independence and privacy while people who share accommodation benefit from shared costs of their living spaces. The other advantage of shared accommodation is for social purposes. People who are arriving in Madrid the first time, whether to study or work, could benefit from initial social interactions with other people new in the city to become familiar with the city and to overcome language barriers if they don’t already speak Spanish. The downside of shared accommodation is lack of privacy, obligation to obey collective rules and decisions. Think about the use of the kitchen, bathroom or decisions of which channels to watch on tv, rules regarding invited guests and sleepovers. Be sure to make sure the landlord is not also living in the apartment as this can further complicate the living arrangements. The other evaluation one needs to make with regards to location is whether to live in the centre of the city or on the outskirts. Both have pros and cons. Living in the city centre enables easy access to the heart of Madrid and its poularity as a social melting pot at the price of noise, traffic, lack of parking spaces and air pollution. On the other side of the coin, living in the surburbs is quieter and usually in the vicinity of the city’s lungs, though further out from the most exciting parts of the city during weekends. It is convenient to have own transport with this choice, because though Madrid has one of the best transportation systems in the world, travel distances and multiple transportation mode changes can be exhausting if one has travel daily¡After, this initial exercise, its now possible to start the search!

It is essential to put an ad announcing the search of an apartment or bedroom on the internet. There are many great websites that facilitate these types of announcements. Websites like www.idealista.com, www.enalaquiler.com, www.fotocasa.es, www.pisos.com are very useful and practical and for more search phrases like "pisos en Madrid" or "alquiler en Madrid" yield great results.There are also webistes run in English namely www.spain-select.com ,www.easyexpat.com and www.madridflatmate.com.

The second step is to identify apartments or rooms of interest according to the criteria established in the introductory paragraph and make appointments to view them. Its important to read the advertisements and announcements carefully to know information about terms of payments, if gas and electricity are included, if the apartment or flat has heating and air conditioning, availability of furniture and certain appliances like microwave ovens, if it has a window(s) and if the window is exterior or interior, if it has an elevator, if there is an internet connection, how many people live in the flat in case of shared apartments and minimum compulsory stay requirements among other factors. Pictures will be a critical part of the elimination process, so to save time in unnecessary visits announcements by viewing pictures first.

1. At the time of making the appointments, ensure to ask any questions that are important in your checklist and to save an unnecessary visit as mentioned above. Take advantage of the call to ask or clarify information not available or clear in the announcement. Do also expect some questions regarding age and in some cases nationality or status in the country (whether on a working or studying visit).Agree on the time of visit and confirm the address if still interested.
2. At the hour of the visit it is important to be punctual and be pleasant. There might be multiple visits at the same time as other interested people make a visit coinciding with your appointment. Be sure to check the apartment and/or bedroom well and ask questions in case of any doubts regarding issue like the working conditions of the appliances or the condition of the furniture. If interested, then inform the person showing the flat who might be the landlord or just a tenant of that particular apartment. Usually, the person showing the flat reserves the right to decide and will promise to call by a certain date after seeing more potential tenants failing which it will be clear that you have not made the cut for approval in that household. Apartment-searching in Madrid is somewhat of a casting session. If not interested, then politely thank the person and say goodbye.
3. In the event of finding a match and being accepted to rent a bedroom or apartment, then make sure to sign a binding contract which usually yields favourable results for the contract holder when taxes are declared.
4. Welcome to the world of tenants in Madrid, enjoy it and convert the apartment, house or bedroom into a home.